LinSanity Taking Over New York – To the Dismay of Many Warriors Fans

It’s an all-too familiar feeling for Warriors, seeing one of their former players playing well elsewhere. But who would’ve ever thought former Warriors guard Jeremy Lin, the Bay Area’s own, would be doing this well this soon?

Saturday, he had 25 points and 7 assists in 35 minutes off the bench. Monday, he had 28 points and 8 assists in 45 minutes.

The technical answer: Golden State needed the cap space to make an offer to the Clippers’ then-restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan. The drafting of Charles Jenkins, who’s more of a true point guard, made Lin a casualty of the Warriors effort at bolstering the roster.

Of course, the Clippers matched the Warriors’ offer to Jordan AND the Warriors lost Lin (who they tried to get back, but he was claimed off waivers by Houston).

The analysis answer: Warriors management, perhaps too focused on what he couldn’t do, didn’t value the strengths of Lin. He is excellent at getting to the basket. He has always been, and he proved (while with the Warriors) that he can get to the cup at the NBA level. He is deceptively quick, has good strength and has a knack for body contortion and maneuvering in air. That figures to make him really good at pick-and-rolls (as Tim Kawakami deftly pointed out), coming hard off screens with the ability to get all the way to the rim. The question for him was his decision making (usually always drives). Can he come off that P&R and make the sound, smart pass? In transition, can he do something other than take it for himself.

These last two games shows he’s gotten better in those areas.

GM LARRY RILEY: “He is a great young man and we are happy that he is getting an opportunity, which he has handled well.”

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Lin also gets after it on defense, a reason Keith Smart liked to go to Lin from time to time. Lin’s also tough and humble. He’s easy to deal with and understands his role. Those things are vital when building a winning team.

Instead of milking what he can do, the hope for the Warriors seemed to be to develop him into something else. Certainly, the Warriors get some of the credit for Lin’s growth. He is MUCH better than he was when he arrived. But it became apparent, quickly, Lin would never be a true point guard and he was probably never going to be a good shooter. Plus, with Monta Ellis already on the roster, the Warriors didn’t need another shooting guard in point guard’s body, especially one that couldn’t shoot. So as much as they liked him, the reward of signing Jordan was worth the risk of losing Lin.

Far too early to determine whether that was a bad decision. But the reality is, you don’t go for 25+ in back-to-back games in the NBA if you don’t have something to work with. And get at least 7 assists. And come up with multiple clutch plays to get a win.

No doubt, Lin lovers will get carried away and call for him to be an All-Star reserve (they were already chanting M-V-P! M-V-P! at the Madison Square Garden). Truth is, he’s got some flaws in his game. (He turned the ball over 8 times Monday), But Lin is showing he can help a team. Maybe even the Warriors. Is he going to carry your team? No. But he can help you.

Warriors management wasn’t unanimous in deciding on Lin. Some thought they should keep him. Others thought it wasn’t a big deal if they lost him. Warriors fans seem to share in that split. Some are saying the Warriors blew it, others calling Lin a fluke benefiting from D’Antoni’s system.

Obviously, co-owner Joe Lacob was convinced of the latter, since he was the key reason Lin was here in the first place (Lacob saw a lot of Lin, who played against Kirk Lacob, now part of the Warriors’ basketball operations staff). The consensus wound up being waiving Lin and if they could sign him back, they would. The Rockets killed that. Then they waived him and the Knicks swooped in to pick up Lin.

JOE LACOB: “I and we are happy for Jeremy. Very happy. We have always thought he was very talented and could play in this league. Unfortunately, we had to take a chance by waiving him in order to make an aggressive play for DeAndre Jordan, a big man that could have addressed our greatest need. We sincerely hoped that he would not be claimed, but he was by Houston. When Houston let him go, we tried once again to get him back but the rules precluded it and the Knicks picked him up. Obviously, for Jeremy, at least, this has worked out very well. I am very happy for him and his family, who I have known since he was in high school.”

Did the Warriors’ blow it? Perhaps. But it’s not a colossal blown move. They could certainly find someone who brings what Lin brings. You could argue Nate Robinson is that guy. Or Charles Jenkins will be that guy. But whoever that guy is, chances are he won’t be able to captivate a city like Lin. And the Bay Area won’t be able to claim him as his own.

And to think they sent him packing for nothing for what turned out to be nothing makes it sting even more for many Warriors fans.

I always said he could have been a JKidd type player with great D, good passing, average shot, and a leader out there.

Ws blew it big time. Absolutely.

Niners in 2012

Even last year, Lin was better at getting to the rim and drawing fouls than anyone on the team. Keith Smart really blew it not running any pickNroll last year. Maybe we would have figured out Lin was a good PnR guy. This is just another insult added to injury. Starting with blowing the amnesty, just terrible. It keeps piling on.

tupark

this was the one and only team where lin could have done this in. this was the only coach that would allow lin to play in this manner given their pg situation. it’s really an amazing story. i’m quite happy for him. i don’t believe he would have been given anywhere near this kind of opportunity had he remained w/ the warriors. don’t get it twisted though, i was upset when they let him go. shocked, actually.

P Faced T Nose

I read Adam’s interview with Cohan, I mean Lacob. What an arrogant a$$ Lacob is.

Larry Riley’s resume of moves has to be the worst in NBA History. He has done nothing right.

What a mess.

Maybe Lacob will move the Warriors to Seattle and then the Bay Area can get an actual NBA team.

dan

come on, the W’s don’t need Lin, they already have a HOF PG in Curry.

PhillyJ

agreed with Tupark, if he was still with the Ws, Mark Jackson wouldn’t know what to do with his skills. Rookie coach with no coaching background?! come on!

Niners in 2012

Mark Jackson is really blowing it with his hockey style substitutions. Who does that??

PhillyJ

and we get to look forward to another blowout loss against OKC tomorrow. i am actually looking forward to seeing the Ws get wiped out tomorrow and the rest of the season.

MontaFans

GSW has been a loser organization and will continue to be pathetic. Just by looking at all the history: whoever left GSW became a star and/or much better player…

goducks!

I think Marcus stated it best by saying,”They could certainly find someone who brings what Lin brings. You could argue Nate Robinson is that guy. Or Charles Jenkins will be that guy. But whoever that guy is, chances are he won’t be able to captivate a city like Lin. And the Bay Area won’t be able to claim him as his own.”
Lin brought an energy when he entered the game. I think the same thing happens in NY. That’s hard to find anywhere around the league with any player. We had it, and gave it away. Hope he continues to do well, and represents the Bay Area well.

Niners in 2012

An “aggressive play for DeAndre Jordan” would have been amnesty on BIEDRINS so you can frontload a contract. But offering a flat $10M, c’mon. Everybody except our front office knew LAC was gonna match that. Amnesty on Biedrins, means keeping Lin and rights on Reggie Rain, plus expiring contract of Charlie Bell. Terrible decision.

joe tran

Warriors should of bench Curry and start Lin. At least Lin likes to go inside and does not get injured. Mark Jackson is an idiot

john

wow, quit making excuses for Keith Dumb and the loser warriors. They kept him at the end of the bench the entire time he was there and never gave him a shot. They deserve to continue their losing ways forever.

DubsFO

Well said 9′er. It was quite obvious the Clips were going to match the Warriors’ offer for Jordan. The dubs ended up paying a terrible price on a very low percentage play. It smacked of desperation. I also think Biedrins looked good for the first couple practices so the front office ended up greatly overvaluing him. Turns out he is even worse then last year!

sco

Ok, everyone needs to calm down. First of all, for all those saying W’s should’ve thrown more money at D’Andre Jordan – what do you do if it doesn’t work out (play falls off, injury etc)? It would be Biedrins part deux! Secondly, Jeremy Lin is putting up numbers in NY for various reasons. Not the least of which is that he is playing with urgency after getting cut by two NBA teams. Put him back in his safe place on the W’s and who is to say he would break out in the same way? And btw, the W’s do not have a PnR player like Chandler that plays above the rim. Very happy for Jeremy. Let’s not ruin it by playing the revisionist history game.

EvanZ

D’Antoni’s “system” wasn’t working too well before the last couple of games.

rotfogel

What we know for a fact: The current Warriors GM(s?) are NOT ANY good at evaluating talent. In fact, they’re REALLY, REALLY bad at it.

Dave

Fool’s gold. I like Lin, but let’s see him put up these numbers for a couple years, not just a couple games.

http://betterwithmayo@yahoo.com jeff

Totally agre with Sco Says! From 06-09 Andris Biedrins had 24, 27, 28 double doubles each year. You just never know how things are going to turn out. D’Andre Jordan wasn’t even liked by West (he thought the W’s offered too much). I thought we offered a little too much for Jordan, but liked the risk. When it was matched I was a little relieved.

Lin is going in well in a system that appears to be a good fit for him. It wasn’t here. We are better off having Robinson.

I seriously don’t think W’s fans understand how hard it is to create a championship team. Look at how long it took Cuban and Dallas to get a championship – and right now, I would take our roster over theirs right now.

Stay calm. If Lacob and Co. keep trying the way they have so far, we will eventually get there.

Yoda

Wait, we’re hand wringing about Jeremy Lin now? And some fool is comparing him to Jason Kidd? Lin’s not even remotely special, as he’ll be showing shortly when he gets his two star black holes to work with.

@ #1: Jason Kidd? Are you kidding me? Lin isn’t even a good passer, much less an all time great passer. He is a guy who has played two good games in two years. Get a clue.

Chris Webber

Another PR nightmare for the Dubs.

The new front office seems like the old front office.
No clear direction. No long term plan. No future.

And I’m not talking just about Lin.

M

Great story, & good for Lin that he is getting his moment, however I think Jenkins will be the better player in the end for us as a backup guard. My personal opinion of course.

yoda the W executives member

@yoda yeah let see you play two good games in the nba yoa$$

you and your Wlosers executives A$$kissers can put jlin down all you want BUT DO NOT SAY IT LOUD WE ALL KNOW YOU GUYS ARE A BUNCH OF DUMBA$$

Ron

Its two games so lets not get too excited….yet. However it does show the shortcomings of Warrior management. It seems its always about today with them. No long term strategic planning. Like Biedrens…how can we amnesty him, we will not have a center. OMG! Well keeping him they do not have a center! But hey keep starting him because he makes so much money how can he sit the bench.

Derek

Larry (the loser) Riley is the worse GM in basketball. The Warriors will continue to suck as a franchise until they hire a guy who understands how to evaluate players and build a roster.

Larry Riley has NEVER had success in the NBA and never will. How the guy became an NBA exec is mind twisting. He must really know how to blow.

Can you media people stop kissing butt and take guys like Riley to task for once why they get rid of a hard worker like Jeremy Lin , who is now the starting PG for the Knicks with back to back double doubles?

I mean first they draft a complete garbage Udoh over Greg Monroe, who is averaging double double this year and they release Lin, while continue to hang hopes on a low basketball IQ Monta Ellis who will notch another losing year as the team’s top player?

Are these people DUMB TO THE CORE?

Gav

The whole WArriors team starting from Lacob to MONTA, is DUMB TO THE CORE>

DUMB TO THE CORE.

Slamma Jamma

Overall, I think this organization seems to be getting better. Not the team, mind you, but the overall feel of the Warriors organization. They have put together a decent bench (which Cohan didn’t bother to do), and seem to be trying to move in the right direction.

That said, the only thing that 100% makes me CRINGE is the steps they took to make a hopeless offer to DeAndre Jordan. Every blog and news outlet in the universe said their offer would certainly be matched without question. If that was the case (as it was) why did they make the colossal mistake of waving Bell’s contract (sticking us with Beans’ deal for 3 years!) and dropping Jeremy Linn, who at least seems like he has something to offer an NBA team?? I wish I knew who’s decisions these were, but as long at Larry “Udoh over Monroe” Riley is the GM, I think it is fair to consider him responsible for yet another poor decision.

For a team that is trying to turn it around, but is low in talent, low in draft picks, and low in free agent interest, these HUGE MISTAKES are very, very costly. I wish I had more confidence in their decision making… but they keep showing me why I shouldn’t.

Gav

Organizaation getting better? Can I have what you are smokling? Is it drafting a 10 minute defensive only player like Udoh over a Solid NBA starter like Monroe? Or is it releasing a guy like Lin who is pure energy and hard work, a guy, unlike the cancer Ellis, can lift the play of his teammate? Is releasing him a clue to this better organization?

John Starks

Count me as one of the people who said we should have kept him. That’s on record. Now that he’s getting time where he doesn’t feel like he’s going to get yanked, he’s now doing good things.

He struggled at times with the Warriors, but he had (obviously) the skills to compete. If we’re judging based on immediate performance, I don’t see how Lin when he started is all that different than Klay Thompson is now.

Zarko

Lin was always a solid defensive player and very adept at getting to the rim, Klay when he first came out wasn’t that good of one on one defender and his shot had to come with experience. I’m very happy for J-Lin, I hope he becomes a mainstay in New York, half of the people here called him crap( a fellow bay area native) and now that his game is blossoming its’ all “oh we should have kept him”.. please.We didn’t deserve him. Riley made a bold move, something the fans wanted, and he failed and the cost was losing Jeremy. old Larry should be fired simply because of his record building teams is terrible.

Mark

I’d rather have Nate and Jenkins every single day. Lin stinks.

PhightinPhil

PhillyJ, it was an analysis, but it was not well written.

EvanZ, excellent point by you. Mike D’Antoni’s “Seven seconds or less” system was anything but before Jeremy Lin was inserted as the point guard.

In the minimal opportunities he was given since he arrived in NY, it was clearly evident that Lin was the best point guard on the roster. Granted, that’s not saying much considering the other PG’s were Mike Bibby and tweeners Iman Shumpert & Toney Douglas.

Still, Lin has shown an instinctual knack for making the right decision every point guard must make. He maintains his dribble, penetrates the lane with relative ease, and, most importantly, finds the open man when defenders are drawn to him.

Sure, he had eight turnovers against Utah, but all of them came in the second half, which in an indication that he was fatigued. Heck, here’s a guy who had scored a combined 32 points since the Knicks signed him, and he has scored 53 points in the last two games. Two games in which he was forced to play 35 and 44 minutes.

Is it too soon to get too excited? Sure. But, and I’m going to get killed for this, he has a lot of Steve Nash to his game. No, I’m not comparing him to Steve Nash, nor am I saying he’s the next Steve Nash. I’m just saying his size, his ability to handle the basketball, penetrate the lane and kick it out and his decision making skills, for two games anyway, are Nash-esque.

jaysohn

I cannot believe the revisionist history that is going on here. No one was crying for Lin last year or when he got cut. Come on now, it’s been two games and not he the 2nd coming of Jason Kidd? Remember how great we all through Anthony Randolph was after a couple of games and bemoaned trading him? Three teams later and he is still a bench warmer. No one show Lin being this good, he was cut by the Rockets and sent to the D league by the Knicks who have been desperate for PG play all season. So let’s not get carried away. If Lin is able to keep this up for a few weeks then there’s something to feel like the Warriors missed out on. Until then let’s keep some perspective.

Don

I keep saying this but somehow it doesn’t sink in. Larry Riley is NOT making the decisions for the Warriors. Certainly not without the advice and consent of Myers, West and Lacob. Now you can blame them if you don’t like the direction, but just dumping on Riley, is not just silly but shows a lack of actual thinking. Larry Riley is still with the Warriors so he can teach Myers about being A Gm. Period. After this year he is gone. Now having said that, the moves by the FO have been very good. they haven’t been able to change the starters but that is because it is very hard to do. But look at the bench. it is so much better than in the past. Now they need to make a big move or two which I know they are trying to do. Lacob is not Cohan and we are so much better off now than we were, won-loss record not withstanding. I believe this FO will do everything they can to get us to be a winner.

Gav

Don are you an idiot? Front office have done very good? You do realize Udoh is a 10 minute a game player while Monroe is a legit starting NBA center right? ARe you retarded?

Bucky

“I cannot believe the revisionist history that is going on here. No one was crying for Lin last year or when he got cut.”

Maybe not the mainstream media, but plenty of educated Lin fans who followed his limited minutes and D-League play saw his potential and had been incredibly frustrated with Smart and Warriors FO all last year and when he was waived.

kay thuy

its not really about lin. its about the fact that the warriors starting five couldn’t beat the dakota wizards. their starting 5 is terrible:

“Warriors management wasn’t unanimous in deciding on Lin. Some thought they should keep him”

Care to mention who thought he should stay Marcus…be interesting to know.

NoMoreWarrior

I am not convinced at all that Charles Jenkins, who’s more of a true point guard.

If you watch last two game Jeremy played. People even consider Jeremy may be as googd as Nash in a few year.

On the other hand, what can jenkins can do. settle jump and not able to run pick and roll. not able to attack basket and make all other better ? A lot of time jenkins settle at jump shot.

I tell you if knick give Jenkins 40 min each to run last two game. I don’t think he will get same result as Jeremy produced.

GSW FO are stupid. Anyway I am no long watch warrior game any more because it end up with same old thing. It will like this for another 5 to 10 years.

PhillyJ

Yoda, thanks but i wont listen to someone who is 3 feet tall, green skin, and has wrinkles as deep as the Grand Canyon to tell me about passing and basketball.

Get off of the haterade. typical jealous warrior fan.

PhillyJ

JLin will have a better career than Jenkins when it is all said and done. Much of that would be due to Lin not being with the Ws, which will make him a better player. Jenkins, unfortunately, will suffer like most of the other Warrior guards before him in this horrible basketball atmosphere.

How do you loose so many games at the end? The Thunder had 2 open men on there final possession, Westbrook under the rim and Durant off a curl. Warriors final possessions are Monta shooting a contested 3 down 1 point and Brandon Rush getting a 3 blocked in the corner?

@Philly agreed. Poor game management, execution and defense. Mark jackson needs to call his own plays or accept responsibility for Malone calling the wrong ones…

To top it all off, the announcers and comcast analysts are happy the game was even close. We need stop wasting our time with team…

Eric

The bottom line is that Lin, a team player who understands basic (and advanced) basketball theory – give n go pick n roll and all the variations to name only the very pedantic.. didnt fit into the Warriors system, a perpetual plan of selfish street ball mentality mediocrity. Case in point – you have the team ‘leader’ score 48 and still lose. Pretty easy to defend the team when its an individual. High percentages win games. And defense isnt just a catchphrase

sperry

Im happy for Lin, he is on the perfect team to allow to him make a name for himself. If he were still on the Warriors, he would never get the chances he is getting now, or have the pieces which allow him to do what he is doing. I prefer to see a talented player get an opportunity, instead of starting and ending their careers on the Warriors Bench.

Through three quarters tonight against Washington, Lin has 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting, eight assists, four rebounds and just one turnover.

PhillyJ

Linsanity will just continue. He has proven he can play and excel. The sample size is growing. Doubters and haters have to shut up soon.

PhightinPhil

Final stat line: 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, which included a highlight-reel slam in the 3rd quarter, 10 assists, four rebounds and only two turnovers in a team-high 37 minutes.
What’s more, he became the first player since Lebron in 2003 to record at least 20 points and seven assists in his first three career starts.

PhillyJ

Not to mention Greg Monroe with 20 pts and 12 boards tonight.

DW

The Golden State Warriors… “SMH”… enough said.

robert rowell

good to see the kid on a hot streak, but really? lin wouldn’t help the warriors with strings of DNP CD’s. would i rather him than robinson? probably, but i’d also rather lebron, rondo, aldridge, love and wade than the junk we got, but it ain’t happenin’.

you can scream all you want in your posts, but Lin is gone, get over it. the people who made that decision, shaped this god awful team, and continue to bumble along are STILL here. and on the face of it, letting lin go isn’t even in the top ten of crap decisions that they’ve made.

riley + lacob = garbage ball.

Fraudy Tom

JLin’s game has flawed? who doesn’t have flaws beside Michael Jordan? give me a break.

Jlin plays def, and he can lead a bunch of backups to victories vs Utah and Washington. I will take that flaw any time.

Fraudy Tom

Larry Riley needs to go! we have too many missing pieces in the roster that could have easily fixed by drafting correctly.

Why didn’t the Warriors drafted a center and took a PF Udoh instead?
Why cut Lin and keep useless junks like Thompson,Jenkins, and Tyler? makes no sense.

http://thesportspress.blogspot.com/ Mike Brewster

Great analysis. I really am getting tired of people saying this is all a fluke. The first game he’s been given a chance this season to prove he has something and he scores 25 with 7 assists, the next game he scores 28 with 8 assists, then the third and he scores 23 with 10 assists. Not only has he played well in these three games, but it’s not like he’s throwing up lucky 3-pointers. He plays at a fast-pace, keeps the ball moving, passes well, penetrates the lane, is quick on his feet.. these are all qualities that come from years of working on different skills. They aren’t things that some lucky bench player can have for a few games, score 20+ points and then suck for the rest of the year. Also, he doesn’t seem to care about the pressure. He was smiling and fired-up throughout all of these games, so I don’t think the pressure will be too much of a factor in limiting his progression.

JB Carrol

Warriors are a mess. Disfunction lives on. Lin’s play is a sucker punch to Locab’s gut. Poor guy- he gets squeezed by Cohen for about 50 mil more than the Warriors true worth. Warrior “braintrust” makes a play on Jordan even after the clips package Kamen up to the Hornets. Hmmm- would the Clip’s really let their only center Jordan walk? One can dream as the Warriors do. Anyone want to talk AC LAW at point? Most uninspiring play that one can witness last year.
What about that amnisty move – Charley Bell’s contract …really?
If the Warriors were smart they would actually package both Ellis & Curry while the hype is still there…and forward Biedrins to the Castro in SF for Cash.

Fraudy Tom

Warriors blew it big time.

Lin could of been the savior that the Warriors are hoping for. This guy has “it” in him. He is a mega-star. a true leader and a read PG. he makes his teammates play harder. as simply as that.

I would trade both Ellis and Curry (and whatever the knicks want) for lin right now and build this warriors team around Linsanity. Please Lacob, blow this team up and start over.

mwlx

Jeremy Lin has gotten better than he was. Would he start ahead of Curry or Ellis? No.

He’s found a lot better fit in NY. Let’s leave it at that, without all the whining.

Fraudy Tom

trade for Lin now.

Ex-W’s & NBA fan

Reason 53 why I cant follow the GSW anymore, let alone the rest of the NBA.

Knicks Fan

Just want to say thanks again for letting Lin go. Historically, This could become the biggest blunder by a franchise (along with Houston)and the greatest waiver wire theft in NBA history…

Knicks Fan

PS: Lin’s not going anywhere anytime soon~ Dream on…

coachdag

Thanks for Lin. I can watch basketball now. I have not watch basketball since the Anthony Trade.

I am a Knicks fan that loved Raymond Felton and now we have a true point guard back.

Joe from Strong Island, NY

Will Hung

Smart and Riley = DUMB and DUMBER

Will Hung

Joe Lacob must be fuming at Riley for getting talked into letting Lin go. It was Lacob’s ‘find’- a diamond in the rough-that if nurtured and developed properly would blossom into a real gem. Instead Smart, who we deservedly axed, burried him on the bench, looking out for his own neck instead of developing players in a lost season. Now it’s time for Lacob to axe the person who made him look like a complete fool, by getting him to agree to cut “his” guy, Lin. Hey Joe, we will fully understand if Larry Riley leaves to pursue other opportunities, because he just blew yours and mine of ever making it to the playoffs in the foreseable future! Firing an executive for making huge critical mistakes is part of the business. Just do it now before it’s too late.